Paul Bettany Pulls Out of ‘The Crown’ Due to ‘Scheduling Conflict’

British actor Paul Bettany has reportedly withdrawn from the role of Prince Philip in Netflix drama The Crown due to a “scheduling conflict”.

The second series of Netflix’s royal drama screened last month (Dec17), and served as the last outing for the current cast, including Golden Globe-winning actress Claire Foy and Matt Smith as a young Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Olivia Colman has been confirmed to take over the role of the British Queen in season three and four, and last week, Daily Mail journalist Baz Bamigboye reported A Beautiful Mind actor Paul was nearing a deal to portray her husband.

“#PaulBettany in negotiations about possibility of him portraying #PrincePhilip in @TheCrownNetflix in season three & four. No deal yet but talks are ongoing,” he tweeted.

However, sources have now confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Paul is no longer able to take over the role of Prince Philip for the previously announced third season of the Netflix drama, due to a scheduling conflict.

The actor who plays Jarvis/Vision in the Avengers franchise, will soon be gearing up for the global promotional push for the latest Marvel movie Avengers: Infinity War, and is in post-production for Solo: A Stars Story – which may explain his lack of availability to work on the critically acclaimed $100 million Netflix series.

Meanwhile, actress Vanessa Kirby, who has played Princess Margaret in season one and two of the royal drama, confirmed Helena Bonham Carter will be replacing her. Uploading a photo of her and Helena, she simply captioned it: “Honoured @thecrownnetflix.”